PEORIA, Ill. – Komatsu this week has announced new investments in its Peoria operations.
The heavy equipment maker held a ceremonial groundbreaking for a new office building at 2300 NE Adams Street in Peoria on Monday morning.
With a $30 million investment, Dan Funcannon, Komatsu Senior Vice President of Surface Haulage, says the company’s expansion this year means 200 new jobs in engineering, sales, product support, and marketing.
Funcannon tells 25 News, Komatsu’s new building will include sustainable and environmentally friendly designs. The building is being designed for optimal efficiency and environmental responsibility, using solar panels, stormwater reclamation systems, and energy-efficient LED lighting.
“The office itself will be solar-designed, and our facility today uses green energy, and it’ll be set up for water conservation,” Funcannon says.
Greater Peoria Economic Development Council CEO Chris Setti says the company is an important part of the Peoria area’s economic landscape.
“If they have almost 1,000 employees here, then that’s almost a thousand people who are put to work in our communities,” said Setti. “They’re eating dinner at our restaurants, shopping at our stores, and filling up at our gas stations.”
Komatsu hopes to have the new building up and running by next Christmas.
The company’s current office was built in the 1970s, and will be replaced when the new building is completed.
In addition to building plans, Komatsu announced the installation of a 980E-5SE mining truck at the entrance.
The truck was built in July 2020 in Peoria as an early prototype, and later commercialized in 2023.
Komatsu’s 980E-5SE truck was the winner of Illinois’ 2024 Makers Madness contest, earning the title of the “Coolest Thing Made in Illinois” after an eight-week bracket-style competition that gathered nearly 315,000 votes.
“This display truck represents more than just a remarkable engineering achievement,” said Funcannon. “It symbolizes our Peoria team’s hard work and innovation and reinforces our manufacturing capabilities. We’re excited for employees, visitors, and Peoria residents to see firsthand the scale and ingenuity behind our products.”
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